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I always considered it of utmost importance for the rich to ensure the belief that money does not aid in happiness beyond the most basic needs, that it is in fa

I always considered it of utmost importance for the rich to ensure the belief that money does not aid in happiness beyond the most basic needs, that it is in fact a burden beyond that.

somenameforme 3y ago
Even if you want to take this sort of world view, I think going the other direction makes more sense. Trying to sell the idea that you can be happy if you just earn a few more dollars, or buy this product, or take this drug, is an amazing incentive for trying to ensure people keep spinning in a endless hamster wheel, and creating artificial demand for basically anything and everything imaginable. If people actually stopped to introspect, or stopped believing that money was like a drug for the ails of their life, our entire economic system would come to a screeching halt, to say nothing of absolutely wrecking the profits of near to every major corporation in existence. There's actually even historical precedent for this. One of the hypothesized factors for the fall of Rome was the rise of Christianity. You went from a nation massively dedicated to product in pursuit of glorification of the Gods, alongside an emperor holding a pseudo-deistic role, to one where you have 'the meek shall inherit the Earth', 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God', and so on. It was probably just a minor factor but it almost certainly played at least some real role.
- RandomLensman 3y ago
  Having a lot of money is indeed something that isolates against a lot of problems as you can just get people to solve them/don't need to care for unexpected costs. If you are not afflicted by some bad diseases or certain personal problems, a lot of money brings a lot of freedom to pursue whatever you fancy. That said, a few more dollars are indeed irrelevant to happiness beyond a certain level, but orders of magnitude might not be.
  - somenameforme 3y ago
    Hahah, you know - I think you might have just explained that magic $75k number. In thinking about your post some of the most obvious examples of this would be things like your car breaking down, or needing to take a week off work, and other such things. $75k (a decade ago) is that point where you can cover these costs, whether in NYC or Bodunk, with a pretty minimal amount of discomfort. Get down into that $50k range and you're doing pretty okay (especially in Bodunk), but that's still at an income point where something like a car failure is going to be really pretty stressful.

I always considered it of utmost importance for the rich to ensure the belief that money does not aid in happiness beyond the most basic needs, that it is in fact a burden beyond that.

somenameforme 3y ago

Even if you want to take this sort of world view, I think going the other direction makes more sense. Trying to sell the idea that you can be happy if you just earn a few more dollars, or buy this product, or take this drug, is an amazing incentive for trying to ensure people keep spinning in a endless hamster wheel, and creating artificial demand for basically anything and everything imaginable. If people actually stopped to introspect, or stopped believing that money was like a drug for the ails of their life, our entire economic system would come to a screeching halt, to say nothing of absolutely wrecking the profits of near to every major corporation in existence. There's actually even historical precedent for this. One of the hypothesized factors for the fall of Rome was the rise of Christianity. You went from a nation massively dedicated to product in pursuit of glorification of the Gods, alongside an emperor holding a pseudo-deistic role, to one where you have 'the meek shall inherit the Earth', 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God', and so on. It was probably just a minor factor but it almost certainly played at least some real role.

RandomLensman 3y ago
Having a lot of money is indeed something that isolates against a lot of problems as you can just get people to solve them/don't need to care for unexpected costs. If you are not afflicted by some bad diseases or certain personal problems, a lot of money brings a lot of freedom to pursue whatever you fancy. That said, a few more dollars are indeed irrelevant to happiness beyond a certain level, but orders of magnitude might not be.
- somenameforme 3y ago
  Hahah, you know - I think you might have just explained that magic $75k number. In thinking about your post some of the most obvious examples of this would be things like your car breaking down, or needing to take a week off work, and other such things. $75k (a decade ago) is that point where you can cover these costs, whether in NYC or Bodunk, with a pretty minimal amount of discomfort. Get down into that $50k range and you're doing pretty okay (especially in Bodunk), but that's still at an income point where something like a car failure is going to be really pretty stressful.